SERF Ideas
Sudbury Education Resource Fund, Inc.
www.serfsudbury.org
Inspiring Education... One Grant at a Time
January/February 2010
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Upcoming Events
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 Kindergarten Parents' Coffee & Conversation
Friday, February, 26, 2010
9:30 - 11:30 am
Grange Hall (next to Sudbury Town Hall)
The SERF Board invites Parents of Sudbury kindergartners to join us for coffee and snacks to learn out about the many ways
that SERF is involved in supporting our schools and maintaining the standard of
excellence that we as parents want for our children. Find out about how SERF maintains a presence in
all of the schools through the funding of grants for some truly innovative and
creative programs that consistently benefit our students.
 Spring College Fair
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Keynote Speaker: Marty O'Connell, Colleges That Change Lives
College Admissions: Looking Beyond the Rankings To Find The Right College Fit
Informational Seminars 12:30- 4:00 pm
College Exhibit Hall 1:00 - 3:00 pm
LSRHS Cafeteria
Meet with college representatives from across the U.S. learn about Gap Year opportunities and attend information seminars led by industry professionals. Seminar topics include the destressing the admissions process, selecting affordable schools and navigating the tests and more at our second annual College Fair.
FREE admission!
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Make a Difference in Your Children's Education
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 If everyone in Sudbury contributed to SERF...
It would
make the difference between a good education for our children and a
great one!
With the noticeable increase in grant applications and tightened school budgets, your contribution to SERF's Direct Appeal is needed now more than ever! It is not too late for you to make a difference in your children's education with your donation to SERF's 2009-2010 Annual Appeal. Contributions of any amount are appreciated!
Thank you to the many who have chosen to make a difference to our 2009-2010 Direct Appeal (see who has contributed so far). And thanks again to the many families and businesses who contributed to SERF during the 2008-2009 school year.
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Fall 2009 ACE Award Recipients
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Thank you to all the families who honored Sudbury's outstanding teachers with a SERF ACE Award this holiday season!
During the recent holidays over 130 teachers received SERF ACE Awards (Appreciation of Champions in Education) as teacher gifts from Sudbury and Lincoln families in recognition of their dedication to quality teaching.
See the entire list of recipients here. Some lucky teachers even received more than one award!
ACE Awards can be given any time of year. For more information about SERF's teacher recognition program, visit www.serfsudbury.org
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SERF Grants a Record $53,000 to Schools
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SERF
approved an unprecedented $53,000 in grant funds for projects in the Sudbury Public
Schools (SPS) and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS) in a meeting of
its Board of Directors on December 7, 2009.
Partially as a result of reduced school budgets, SERF experienced a dramatic
spike in grant applications during the 2009 Fall Grant Cycle. Applicants sought more than $55,000 in funds with SERF approving $53,000, the largest amount for a single grant cycle in SERF's 18-year history.
"In the past, we marveled at an
enrichment grant cycle that exceeded $25,000," said SERF Co-President Debbie
Pullen. "Beginning in fall 2008,
as school budgets were tightened, the volume of applications of all types have
continued to rise."
A large percentage of these grants will fund new and expanded technologies in the schools. Other funds will cover basic learning materials, innovative enrichment
programs, and critical counseling
and wellness programs at both SPS and LSRHS. For more details on these grants, read the full article at www.serfudbury.org
   
Recent grants (left to right): Laptop bundles for Curtis 6th Grade special needs strategic skill building; FlipVideo cameras for SPS K-8 enhanced teaching with video; Geography Alive! multimedia resources for Curtis 6th grade; SmartBoard electronic whiteboards for LSRHS Math and World Languages departments. |
Grants in Action
First Grade Poets
District-wide enhanced poetry curriculum
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"I
never knew I was such a good poet."
- Sudbury First Grader
Those were the words of a Sudbury first grader, following the launch of
an innovative pilot program funded by SERF to enhance the poetry curriculum in first grade classrooms
across the district.
Haynes Elementary school Literacy Specialist Maria
Papetti and
Elizabeth Richter, her counterpart at the Peter Noyes Elementary school, recently used SERF funds to purchase a collection
of poetry books for every first grade classroom in the district.
The idea to apply for SERF funds stemmed from the two specialists' experience teaching poetry and a professional development program on poetry for first grade teachers across the district. They discovered that teachers had tremendous enthusiasm for
quality poetry for children and applied for the SERF grant as a way to fund a
collection of high quality poetry commensurate with the teachers' interest.
The poetry project quickly paid
off big dividends. Students began asking
for poetry books in their classrooms, the school libraries, and literacy centers. Students demonstrated an enhanced understanding of
"the different types of poetry that are possible," reports Ms.
Papetti. Immersed in reading great
poetry, the students were inspired to write their own and began to select poetry
when offered a choice of genres during writing workshops. "The poems generated
were deemed so successful that they became part of almost every student's
writing treasury," continued Papetti.
The first
graders' enthusiasm for poetry has already inspired the second grade to begin a
similar project. Moreover, Ms. Papetti reports that "teachers
at the next grade level are delighted that their incoming students will bring
this experience with them."
To read about more literacy-related grants funded by SERF, read the full article at our website, www.serfsudbury.org.
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SERF Board of Directors 2009-2010
Debbie Pullen,
Co-President
Karen Volo, Co-President
Susan Goswami,
Treasurer
Beth Winograd, Secretary
Lisa Weil, Chair, Marketing
Faith Chen, Co-Chair, Granting
Marisa Dawson, Co-Chair, Granting
Members: Betsy Cohen, Karen Darmer,Susan Ganio, Ellen Gitelman, Marisa Helgeson, Anne Hincks, Kim Kelly, Elena Kleifges, Stephanie Stein
Lapat, Ruth Miller, Hannah Pentz, Kim Prendergast, Dawn Solowey, Laura Tyrrell, Carol Zais
SERF is always seeking new Board of Director members. If you are interested in serving on this dynamic board, please contact Debbie Pullen at info@serfsudbury.org.
SERF's 2008-2009 Board of Directors at "Not Just Desserts," May 2009
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